Category Archives: News

Sunderland mosque protest a damp squib

click here for Original Article  from Sunderland Echo.

A DEMONSTRATION against the building of a mosque in Sunderland turned out to be a damp squib.

Just 10 people, saying they were from the Northern Patriotic Front, stood opposite the site – a former council vehicle depot in St Mark’s Road, Millfield – on Saturday.

Officers from Northumbria Police were also present.

A spokesman for the force said: “The event passed without incident.” Previous demos have seen clashes between protestors and anti-fascist groups.

When the application for the mosque was submitted in 2012, Sunderland City Council received 623 letters of objection and a petition bearing 1,462 signatures in opposition to the proposals.

However, it was given the green light last year, and work is expected to begin shortly.

Consett March against extremists – June 23rd

From original article by Northern Echo. Click here for original article

DETAILS of one of the first marches against extremism to be held in the North-East have been revealed.

The Stand Strong event will be in Consett, County Durham, and is one of 70 across the country being staged on June 23.

Marchers plan to leave Castleside Cenotaph at noon and head or the Consett Cenotaph for a five minute silence in memory of murdered soldier Lee Rigby at 1pm.

The 25-year-old was butchered on the streets of Woolwich in an alleged terrorism attack last Wednesday and the marches are being held with members of all faiths and communities.

More details are available on the Consett Strong Facebook page.

See Northern Echo

North East Fusiliers condemn racists for exploitating Lee Rigbys death.

The North East Fusiliers Association have condemned events this week after a serving army sergeant Sgt Glen Hughes attempted  to stand in for EDL leader Tommy Robinson on an EDL walk.on Armed Forces day. The walk had planned to travel from Westminster to Woolwich at the site of the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. The walk was an attempt by the racist EDL to raise and donate money to the Help for Heroes charity, who have rejected donations from the racist EDL.

Hughes changed his mind as his decision to do so attracted “unwanted interest”.

The Fusiliers Association North East have reacted strongly to this event and issued a statement on their Facebook page about soldiers being approached to take part in demonstrations.They said:

“The Hackle and the Regiment is not to be associated with any organisations which seek to exploit the death of one of our Regimental family for a range of self-serving and unhelpful reasons. It is wrong and disgraceful that the death of one of our own should be exploited in this manner and that dishonour, by wrongful association, is brought onto the Regiment.”

The Fusiliers Association North East have condemned groups like the EDL who wish to exploit Lee Rigbys death for their own benefit.

Their statement is available on their facebook timeline page at 30 May 2013.

TWAFA supports the Fusiliers Association North East  in their call for retired soldiers not to support racist marches and demonstrations.  If one thinks of the sacrifice of members of the British armed forces in the fight against Nazism and fascism between 1939 and 1945, it is inappropriate for anybody connected with the armed forces past or present to be involved in supporting racist right-wing marches and demonstrations by the English Defence League or any other far-right group, in the wake of the appalling murder of Lee Rigby.

The Fusiliers Association North East are correct to maintain that it is disgraceful that the death of Lee Rigby  is being exploited by far-right groups in this way.

It is also worth remembering the following statement from the Rigby family:

“We would like to emphasise that Lee would not want people to use his name as an excuse to carry out attacks against others. We would not wish any other families to go through this harrowing experience and appeal to everyone to keep calm and show their respect in a peaceful manner.”

Anybody from the far-right involved in racist marches and demonstrations in the wake of Lee Rigby’s murder are doing nothing more than dishonouring his name and treating his family with the utmost contempt.

See The Fusiliers Association North East

The Independant  The Guardian

EDL And Anti-Fascists March Through Newcastle City Centre

From original article at  Sky News by By Dan Salisbury-Jones

Click here for original article and videos

A huge policing operation involving an estimated 1,000 officers has been staged in Newcastle city centre as officers kept the peace between the English Defence League and opposing protest groups.

Our reporters saw firecrackers and glass bottles being thrown by the EDL in the Bigg Market area as they were held back by lines of police, but the rival groups were kept apart and under control.

A number of arrests were made for public order and alcohol offences.

Police estimate between 1,500 and 2,000 far-right EDL supporters travelled from across the UK to converge on Newcastle for the parade.

A counter march led by anti-fascist group Newcastle Unites attracted around 400 demonstrators, police said.

Also on the streets were 10 police horses on loan from the West Yorkshire Force, including Bud, who was punched by a Newcastle United fan following the Tyne-Wear derby match in April.

He was on duty close to Central Station and was showing no ill effects following the attack, with well-wishers stroking and patting him as he made his first return to the streets of Newcastle.

Three people were arrested ahead of the event, on suspicion of posting racist remarks on Twitter, and are in police custody.

Some businesses took the decision to close as EDL supporters gathered near Central Station.

Pink Lane Coffee tweeted: “We’re shutting for the rest of the day, sorry guys. Not wanting to but need to look after the shop and our staff.”

The march took place as tensions run high in the wake of the horrific murder of solider Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday May 22.

The killing has prompted a huge increase in anti-Muslim incidents, according to the organisation Faith Matters, which works to reduce extremism.

The Newcastle EDL demonstration was called months before the Woolwich atrocity, which was followed by a spontaneous EDL gathering close to the scene and clashes with police.

Some roads were closed in Newcastle as the two marches passed through the city from opposite directions, finishing around 100 yards apart at the junction of Bigg Market and Newgate Street around 2pm.

Many in the Newcastle Unites protest chanted: “Nazi scum, off our streets.”

A man who appeared to be wearing British Army desert fatigues was given a rousing reception when he showed EDL supporters a flag of St George printed with the words RIP Lee Rigby.

Northumbria Police say the operation was a success.

Statement on Woolwich Murders

Hope Not hate have issued the following statement

From Original post by Nick Lowles at Hope not Hate : Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 21:25

We have watched the events in Woolwich unfold with absolute horror. There can be no justification for this outrage, or indeed any other form of  hate-fuelled terrorism. The perpetrators should be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.
In the awful aftermath of this murder, it is the responsibility of everyone to stand together against the violent and sickening ideology that motivated these attackers. We must also remain vigilant against those who seek to stir up hatred on the back of this atrocity. Any outpouring of racist hate and threats of violence is totally unacceptable. Let us stay united; let us say no to hate. Let HOPE beat hate.

TWAFA endorse every word of this statement and would add that our thoughts are also with the family and friends of the victim of this appalling attack. There can be no place anywhere for the kind of barbaric and savage attack perpetrated on the streets of Woolwich on 22nd May.

It also needs to be said loud and clear that this was an attack by two extremists following a twisted and false version of Islam. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon from the English Defence League has already been mouthing off, for want of a better phrase, in the media that the behaviour of the two attackers is typical of Islam. It is not. It is appalling, misguided behaviour from two individuals, who, while no doubt claiming to be acting in the name of Islam, are actually doing nothing of the sort.

There have already been reports of the English Defence League stirring up trouble in Woolwich on the evening of the attack. This is highly regrettable. At TWAFA we fervently hope that the shocking attack by two individuals on an unarmed man in Woolwich, will not be used as an excuse to promote bad community relations in Northeast England. There can be no excuse for innocent Muslims and their mosques to be attacked, just because of the actions of two individuals.

After all, isn’t that exactly what the two attackers would want?

Durham Miners Association dissapointed by SAFC response on Di Canio

The Durham Miners’ Association have issued an additional statement today regarding Sunderland AFC’s appointment of the nazi saluting self-declared fascist Paolo Di Canio as new coach. The DMA statement can be seen here.

In a shocking response letter from Sunderland AFC, Club Chief Executive Margaret Byrne refused to confirm support for the DMA’s request that her club support a campaign “to expose the danger which fascism poses in the present economic climate”.

The DMA have decided for the moment to leave their Miners banner on display in the club, they however they have expressed publicly that

        “…. the politics of the Club’s coach should be kept under scrutiny” and emphasised that “any recurrence of fascist and/or racist undertones would mean that the banner be immediately removed and placed back in the community.”

It is absolutely stunning that Margaret Byrne could write to the Durham Miners Association stating that Paolo Di Canio is not a fascist. This is despite thefact that Di Canio has himself said that he is a fascist and proudly wears a tattoo of Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini.  There have also been umpteen photos of Di Canio on the internet making fascist salutes.

In the immediate aftermath of the furore surrounding the appointment of Di Canio, Margaret Byrne similarly stated that Di Canio had been misquoted. One has to wonder what part of “I am a fascist”, she thinks was a misquote.

Byrne has also said that Di Canio was ‘misunderstood’.  Again one has to wonder, what Margaret Byrne has not understood about the numerous pictures on the internet of Di Canio making fascist salutes.

It does indeed seem to be the case that as mentioned by the Hope Not Hate

“Sunderland are in a hole and are intent on keeping digging. Sometime they will have to stop digging and start to face up to just what they have done in appointing an openly fascist manager like Di Canio”